Aftermath: A Soul Eater Continuation (Dark)
by TsunTsunSama
Summary: This came after my rage at the ending to the anime. So, I started writing this. Asura isn't dead, Maka and Soul have to stop them but all their old friends are trying to kill them. There is also Soul x Maka because of course. Enjoy. Follow if you care! *Note* This story will soon have be finished.
1. Tears and Comfort

Maka got in her apartment completely and utterly soaked, her face red and puffy from crying. As she sobbed into a pillow she felt a hand softly rest on her shoulder. Was it Soul? But shouldn't he be with his family? Why would he be home?

"It didn't go well?" His deep rasping voice asked quietly. Maka sniffed sharply, trying to calm down.

"Hey Soul? If I told you something was wrong. Not something bad, but something had changed, would you think I was crazy?" She rushed ahead without waiting for an answer. "My dad invited me to dinner. And I went, expecting the worst. As usual. But then he... said some confusing stuff. Like how he hadn't been dating, or cheating on mama. And of course I started yelling, telling him that's all just a lie. He's usually with three other women at once! But then mama walked in the door, and they were... they were friendly with eachother. And acted like they were married. They wanted me to move in with them, Soul. We could..." She didn't finish the sentence, just looked at him with a deep yearning of a child who had never had a real home. Then she looked away. "But thats wrong. They got divorced, because papa just kept cheating on her. They aren't married. It's just... wrong."

"Huh. Well, that confirms that I'm sane."

"Why? Did something happen?" She asked, confused.

"It wasn't as big a change as yours. But my family talked like I had been in touch. I hadn't seen them in years, but they brought up recent conversations we had, conversations I don't remember. It was strange." Maka stood abruptly.

"I need to change. I'll be right back." She walked to her bedroom and shut the door.

Yanking open dresser drawers, she rummaged for a change of clothes as she thought. Both she and Soul had found inconsistencies. Something, in the few days they had been gone, had changed. Maybe just for them, or maybe something was different about the entire world. Maka carefully dried her hair before slipping into a pair of soft green flannel pajamas. She was wearing them for comfort after all, so getting them wet would ruin the point. Then she meticulously fastened every one of the small plastic buttons. Tossing the wet clothes down the laundry chute, she sat back on the couch next to Soul.

"What do we do now?" He asked, fingers laced behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

"All of this was for the better." Maka said, half to herself. "I'm not even sure if I want things to go back to normal."

"Depends." Soul muttered.

"On what?"

"What else might be different. Think about it. We both had something good happen. But that doesn't have to be true." He sighed. "We just don't know. Which means we need to find out." Maka nodded, hugging her knees to her chest. "It's settled then." Soul said. Maka buried her head in her knees. On the trip back, she had wondered about finally living life. Asura was dead, and with him, a large portion of everything wrong with the world. Soul was still here. And there was something she had been meaning to tell him, if they both lived. But then this had to get in the way... "What's up?" He asked, startling her from her reverie.

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"You have that look you get after a test. When you analyze every answer you wrote and convince yourself that they were all wrong. Despite how you always get a perfect score." He knew her too well.

"I was just thinking." She paused a moment. Was she going to ask? They had barely been back for five hours, and there was something new to deal with. It could wait. No. No it couldn't.

"Whatever you're trying to say, spit it out already."

"I'm trying! Quit interrupting!" She huddled tighter. "Hey Soul."

"Yeah?" There was a pause.

"What do you think of me?"

"Hmm." He said, staring at the ceiling. "Well. That's an interesting question. I think you're the most capable person I know. You're smart, and good at almost everything. And while social skills fall into the small list of things you're bad at, you're a very kind, caring person and you always look out for people. Also, topping the list, you're the girl who killed a god yesterday. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering if..."

"If?"

"Quit interrupting!"

"Geez. Sorry." Maka was silent again.

"I was wondering if you liked me! Because I've wondered for a long time but it never seemed like the right time to ask. So now I'm asking!" Maka practically shouted in a torrent of words without pausing for breath. She felt awkward. Had she just really said that she liked him? Wasn't there another word? What was she, ten? The silence stretched on longer, and longer, until her anxiety over what he would think was overruled by anger. Maka looked up at Soul, angry enough to be thinking about where she might hide a body. And then she immediately regretted it. He was laughing at her. Silently, but helplessly, his shoulders shaking and one hand over his face. Maka groped around on the side table for a large book she had been reading, planning to hit him with it. Seeing her, he immediately sobered up.

"Sorry. It just seemed so funny how you beat me to the punch."

"Huh?" She asked, confused, dropping the book back on the table. He leaned over and poked her in the forehead.

"Use that big brain of yours. What I mean is I was going to ask you the same question." He smirked slightly. "Probably with less volume." Maka was very, very quiet. She almost seemed like a rock in green pajamas. Slowly, hesitantly, she shifted over a bit. Then a bit more. Finally, she leaned over. Apparently she wasn't close enough, because instead of putting her head on his shoulder like she had hoped, she toppled over into his lap, almost dying of embarrassment in the process. But it felt nice. Maka decided that she didn't want to move. He was so warm...

"Hey Soul." She murmured, her high soft voice almost silent.

"Yeah?"

"Do things seem to be changing a little too fast?" He thought about it for a moment.

"Well, we had two really good things happen in as many days. Asura is gone. And we're together. And who knows, the whole mess with history could just be... I don't know, but it doesn't seem all that bad yet." Maka snuggled closer a bit, and looked up at his flame red eyes. Then she sighed. He was trying to make her not worry. It wasn't working.

"Hey Soul. What should we do now?"

"I was going to sleep." He leered suggestively. Maka glared, and flicked him hard, leaving a red mark on his pale skin.

"Idiot. Though that isn't a half bad idea. I'm exhausted." Soul looked thoughtful.

"You want to sleep together?" He said casually. Maka thought. What would he think if she refused? Did she want to? Definitely. But it was just... so weird. Maybe things were moving too fast. But, Maka realized, maybe that was fine.

"Yeah. I'd like that. Not-" She said sternly. "that way." She definitely wasn't ready for that yet. He chuckled dryly.

"Yes, yes. Now get off. I need to brush my teeth." Maka sat up and watched Soul as he wandered into his bedroom. Life was definitely looking up. but there was still the new issue of history changing. It worried her, growing in the back of her mind like a tumor. She stood up, went to her bathroom, and started vigorously combing her hair. When it met her approval, she climbed into bed and started absently reading a random book. Soul came in a minute later, having changed into a soft cotton shirt and loose sweatpants. He slipped in beside her, and flicked off the lamp. They lay in the darkness, feeling more than a little awkward. Was anything going to happen? Did she even want something to happen? Finally, Soul wrapped strong arms around Maka, pulling her in for a kiss. She was so surprised that she was motionless for a few seconds, then kissed him back. After a few seconds, she broke apart.

"Idiot. Go to sleep." She murmured, cuddling close to him. Maka fell asleep with the little warm waves of his steady breathing washing over her.


	2. The Party

Maka awoke around late afternoon with sunlight streaming in her window, and Soul sleeping next to her. For a minute, she just sat, staring stupidly and wondering whether or not to hit him. Then memories of yesterday flooded into her sleep addled brain. She was almost immediately a mix of worried and confused. Had she really meant what she said? And there was already something new to deal with. Maka felt she should have waited to ask him. Stumbling out of bed, she found a change of clothes and went to take a shower. Turning the cold on full blast, Maka stepped in. She exited a few minutes later, shivering, her already pale skin now bone white, but able to think clearly. First in line to present its case to her newly awakened brain was her stomach, reminding her that since she had skipped dinner her last meal had been almost a day ago. Maka finished getting ready and went to the kitchen, taking bacon and eggs out of the freezer. Putting a kettle on the stove, she heated a large skillet and started frying the bacon. Ten minutes later when Soul meandered out of the bedroom, groggy and yawning, she had a large plate of bacon and eggs for them both, and two cups of hot chai tea. They picked silently at their food, studying the plain ceramic plates like they were masterpieces of sculpture.

"They're throwing a party in an hour." Soul remarked. "To commemorate your victory over the forces of evil." Maka sighed. He was obviously trying to change the unspoken subject.

"Fine. Let's go." They ate with some small sense of urgency, and Soul went to his room for some real clothes.

"Formal?" He called.

"Formal." Maka called back, changing into a smooth pink dress. She fiddled anxiously with her ash gold hair, eventually deciding on a loose, swirling bun. When she stepped out, Soul was waiting in his usual pinstriped suit, his spiky silver white hair tumbling down around his head.

"Your hair looks good like that." He commented. Maka laughed, and shyly took his hand. They set off out of the apartment and onto the street. It was a fifteen minute walk to the DWMA, and another fifteen to navigate the labyrinth of hallways. They arrived only ten minutes early, much later than Maka would have liked.

"Welcome." Said a smooth baritone voice at the door. "Welcome, Soul And Maka, slayers of the dread Asura." Maka recognized that voice, as did Soul. They turned to look at the speaker in unison. A row of huge, twisted eyes looked back. It was Asura. The dead god had returned. But that was impossible. Two days ago, Maka had killed him.


	3. City Escape

Maka froze in terror as Asura stalked closer. He was wearing a parody of Lord Death's outfit, having wrapped himself in black bandages and wearing a mask covered in his signature, twisted eyes. "Welcome, you two." He repeated.

"Lord Death!" Someone called. "The guests of honor seem to be here! Won't you introduce us?" It took Maka a moment to realize the speaker meant Asura. Turning to Soul, she whispered one word.

"Run." Kicking off her heels, Maka tore back down the passage, Soul trailing slightly.

"What are you doing!" Asura called after them as they rounded a passage and disappeared from sight. The two pushed aside arriving guests, dashed out into the street, and back for their apartment.

"We need to leave." Maka yelled to Soul as they sprinted down the sidewalk. "Stop by the apartment for anything essential, then we get out as soon as possible."

"Got it." Soul yelled back, his dress shoes pounding on the sidewalk. They bounded up the stairs and through the door into their apartment. Soul slammed it shut and locked it while Maka hurriedly stuffed things into her backpack.

"Bring me a change of clothes, water, and the big bag of trail mix." She ordered Soul, cold practicality overriding anything else. After having packed her stuff and a first aid kit, she grabbed one of the two outfits she had gotten out and quickly changed into it. The dress would be too impractical. Soul had already changed, and stuffed his belongings, the food, and the water into the bag. Just as Maka got the pack on her back, the door burst in, and several figures thundered into their apartment. "Out the window!" Soul called. His form blurred and burned with light like a blazing red flame as he changed into an ornate, silver and red scythe as tall as Maka. She grabbed him out of the air and felt an immediate rush of power. As a Meister, Maka could manipulate magic. And as a weapon, Soul had magic in abundance. The rush of raw power flooded into Maka, and suddenly she felt like she could take on anything. Swinging Soul for the window, it shattered in a storm of glass and Maka leaped out onto the nearby roof. She sprinted along it, hearing many sets of footsteps pounding against the shingles behind her. She glanced back, and saw several black clad figures running along the roof, faster than her. In the lead was a child sized shape in loose, white clothing, the face unmistakable. It was Black Star.

"Get back here!" Came his loud, brash voice.

"Black Star?" She called over her shoulder.

"Well of course! Now, Lord Death wants you back at the DWMA! Don't make me drag your corpse over there!" He was treating this like some sort of game. Maka couldn't understand it.

"Cut it out!" Maka yelled at him, skidding to a halt. "You need to help us. Asura has-" In a blindingly fast motion, Black Star flicked Tsubaki, in her usual shape of a short sword, from a sheath at his side and slashed at Maka. Maka skipped to one side, avoiding the blow. Her mind whirled. Black Star was trying to kill them! Was it another way the world had changed? Somehow, things seemed unreal. But Tsubaki was with him, in the form of the small sword he was trying to kill her with. Maka almost couldn't believe the kind, sweet girl she knew was gone.

"Tsubaki." Maka pleaded. "Please, get him to stop this." Black Star paused. Tsubaki, clutched in his right hand, was shimmering and changing. Maka breathed a sigh of relief, then stared. The short sword had morphed into a tall, handsome young man with features like Tsubaki. But it wasn't her.

"My sister... how... how do you know her name?" The man asked. "She's dead." His face contorted with loss and pain. "My sister is dead! And so are you, for daring to mention her!" Maka turned and fled as the man shifted back into a weapon.

"Maka! Down!" Soul called, his voice metallic and distorted from being in his weapon form. The girl dropped and rolled as a small wave of shuriken passed over her head. She looked behind her to see the black robed assassins pulling more of the the small metal stars from hidden folds in their robes and hurling them at her as they pounded after them.

"If we can get back to the DWMA garage we could outrun them. My motorcycle is parked there." Soul said as Maka swept him in an arc, sending another swarm of shuriken spinning harmlessly away with a clatter of metal on metal.

"Got it." She replied, springing onto a different roof. They were only a couple blocks away. She ducked behind a chimney as another storm of metal flew through the air at her, waited a beat, and took off. Almost there. A shuriken whistled through the air and cut a small slash in her arm. She didn't slow down, leaping up to catch the ledge of another building. Maka swung up, dashed forward, and hurtled out into space for another rooftop. One block down, one to go.

"Duck!" Soul yelled suddenly. Maka dropped to the ground as a Black Star hurtled above her head, Tsubaki outstretched. He rebounded off a heater, kicking towards her head. Maka knocked him to one side with Soul, and circled warily. Black Star muttered something to the weapon in his hand, which shifted into a spiked chain. He whirled it to build up momentum, then sent it lashing for her head. Maka leapt to one side, thrusting Soul into the chain. It tangled around him and Maka yanked, sending Black Star stumbling. She crouched low and swept his legs out from under him, freed Soul of the chain, and was off again. Another shuriken hit her side as she leapt for the parking garage, rolling on the hard concrete floor She stumbled and fell, and Soul shifted and changed back to being human, picked her up, and awkwardly jogged onwards. Barely reaching the motorcycle ahead of their pursuers, he threw her across the back of the motorcycle and took off, swerving wildly to avoid another flight of projectiles. Maka slumped forwards, and Soul had to hold her arms around him with one hand to keep her from falling off. "Just stay with me." He said softly, desperately, as they sped off out of the city.


	4. Little Black Book

Soul found a cave around thirty miles out, and stashed Maka in it. The girl had collapsed, and he cleaned and bound the cuts inflicted by the shuriken. They seemed too shallow for her to be unconscious, but Soul didn't give it much of a second thought. However, the desert got freezing cold at night, and he knew it couldn't do Maka any good. He stepped out, glancing in all directions for something to use as firewood. After hunting for a few minutes, he found a corpse of scraggly trees, about half of them dry and dead. He gathered an armload of the branches and went back into the cave. Now for fire. Setting them on the ground, he arranged a small pile of twigs and dry desert grasses into a pyramid. His arm shifted and changed into the blade of a scythe, and he struck it against the ground. Little sparks flew up and caught the pyramid. Steadily, he fed it larger and larger branches until the fire blazed merrily and the cave flooded with warmth. After a few minutes, Maka started to stir.

"Hey." He said quietly. "How do you feel?"

"Feverish. I think those shuriken were poisoned." She waved away his worried glance. "They didn't go in deep enough, or I'd be dead most likely." She huddled into a ball near the fire. "I didn't know if I would wake up. I tried to tell you something was wrong but by then I was already out."

"Good thing it wasn't lethal then." Maka nodded absently.

"Black Star was definitely trying to kill us. And that man... he said Tsubaki was dead. And he looked just like her..." Then she started. "Soul, get something to block the entrance. Now. This can probably be seen for miles."

"Damn. You're right. Just a moment." In a few minutes Soul had broken off several more of the dead trees and dragged over the entrance, muting the glow of the fire. He stared into the darkness, looking for a hint of any pursuers who might have seen the light. Nothing. They had gotten lucky. He moved a branch aside and slipped back in. "We'll need to move before long. It's a good eight or ten hours until daytime. In four hours, at the most, we need to be gone." Maka nodded, staring into the crackling flames.

"Now we know." She murmured.

"Know what?"

"Why history has changed. Asura must have something to do with it." She shivered, but not from the cold.

"What I don't get is how he's still alive."

"I have an idea about that. You know how he's really just a piece of Lord Death?"

"Yeah. Sorta."

"When we left to kill him, Lord Death was really hurt. What if Asura didn't really die but just... put himself back? In the state Lord Death was in..." She trailed off. The god had almost been dead. If Asura, even injured as he was, had attacked him, there would have been little Lord Death could have done about it.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry." Soul said, rooting through the backpack. "Hey Maka. Did you pack a book?"

"Huh? No. Why?"

"There's one in here."

"Let me see it." Soul passed her a slender, black volume. Maka noted the picture on the front, a cheerful, cartoon skull. It looked just like Lord Death's mask. She flipped it open. "Lord Death's Guide to Killing Asura." She read out loud, almost smiling. "It's from him. He must be all right."

"Lets hope." Soul muttered. "The way things are going..."

_Hey, you two._ The opening read. _I'm a little under the weather right now, but there's a few things you should know. First off, I'm not dead, yet anyway. But I will be soon. You may have figured this out already, but Asura wasn't really dead. Yup, he came right back into the DWMA and attacked me. Awful right? So I used most of my remaining energy to do a couple of things. You may have noticed some things were fiddled with, history changing and stuff. I stopped that from happening to you two, so thank me later. And I wrote this book. See, it's going to take Asura a while to finish me off. While that happens, you two need to do me a little favor. Find Kid, would you? Now that I'm dying, he can awaken fully as my son. And then Asura can be killed for good. Heck, if you find him soon enough, you might even change history back to how it should be! But for all that to happen, you need to get him out of wherever Asura has hidden him. See, Asura understands all this too, and even though I hid Kid away, it won't be long before I'm gone for good. Then when I'm dead, Kid will be next. So find him, ok? A good place to start would be with the Thompson sisters, though I'm really not sure where they are. Sorry! But they have a clue I planted on them. I couldn't put it in the book or Asura might get his hands on it. But if you can do that, you might find a few more instructions in this book. Until then, good luck! Maka flipped to the next page, but it was empty. Soul had been peering over her shoulder as she had read._

"Huh." Was all he said.

"You know, I remember Patty saying she and Liz were from Brooklyn." Maka muttered. She leaned back and looked at Soul. "Maybe we should check there?" Soul nodded.

"Brooklyn it is." He raised a finger. "But you need to rest for a bit." Maka made a small noise of agreement and stretched out on the stone. Soul sat back, slouching against a wall of the cave.

"Hey Soul."

"Yeah?" Instead of saying anything, Maka crawled over and lay down on top of him.

"Nevermind." She murmured. Moments later the girl was asleep. Soul absently ran his fingers through her hair, staring at the fire. They couldn't stay much longer.


	5. Road Trips and Criminals

Maka awoke with Soul shaking her gently. She yawned, stretched, and got up.

"How do you feel? I gave you five hours. Hopefully it helped."

"Yeah, it really did. Thanks. I feel great." She replied. He knew she was mostly being reassuring. When she got up he could see that she almost fell back over. "Let's go. Do you know which way it is?"

"No idea." Soul replied. Maka bit her lip.

"Which way is Death City then?" Soul pointed.

"About that way, thirty miles or so." Maka thought a moment.

"There's a gas station a few miles that way." She said, gesturing. "We can stop there. Then we turn a bit more north, and keep heading that direction. We can get to Brooklyn in four days." Soul grinned.

"You really know everything. Lets do it then." They refueled at the gas station and headed out. Maka insisted they only stop at small, out of the way locations. Using the DWMA, Asura would certainly have put out a warrant for their arrest. The less they were spotted, the better. The two cruised along dusty highways, through empty back roads, and sometimes off any road entirely, each taking a five hour shift for driving. Maka spent a lot of the trip looking at the book at Lord Death had left, reading and rereading the message. As prophecies went it was pretty clear. She couldn't detect any sort of hidden meaning, but tried anyway. It was either that or think about how much she had begun to hate eating trail mix for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They arrived in Brooklyn right on time, seeing the city rise across the water about ten miles out. "I'm going to ditch the bike. With our luck, it's reasonably likely we're going to get caught, and we certainly would if I tried to use my bank account to rent a parking spot while we look for the Thompsons. Unless you thought to bring cash?" Soul asked. Maka shook her head.

"Nope." She pointed. "We could stash it in there." She said, pointing to a shady rocky overhang on the beach, out of the way of the nearby suburbs.

"Works. It's going to take the rest of the day to walk over there. Will you be ok?"

"I don't see anywhere else further on where we could hide it, so I'll have to be I guess. Just hide it here. We can try to come back for it." Soul put some random junk over the bike in an attempt at camouflage. When he was satisfied, they started walking along the beach towards the city. It took a good five hours, and it was late afternoon when they crossed the bridge into Brooklyn. They wandered aimlessly down the streets without any sort of clear plan. Eventually, they started heading into the darker parts of town.

"Hey. Would you just stay out here?" Soul said. They were outside a seedy looking pub, with loud, coarse laughter and dull yellow light trickling out. Maka looked doubtful.

"Um, Soul..."

"I'll be fine." He gestured to her current clothing, jeans with a orange hoodie and white cotton shirt. "You look like a schoolgirl on break. On the other hand, I blend pretty well." To illustrate, he tugged the black leather jacket on his shoulders. Maka glared, but leaned against the wall.

"Fine. Be back in fifteen minutes or I'm dragging you out."

"Yeah yeah..." He slipped in the door and sauntered in. Maka waited as the minutes ticked by.

"Hey cutie." Rumbled a voice by her shoulder. "What'cha doin?" Maka turned to see one of the fouler, more disgusting men she had seen. Six feet tall at least, with a bald head, bristling array of piercings, and a smell that hit her like a punch to the gut. She pointedly looked the other way.

"Waiting for a friend." She replied tersely. "Why." Another couple of thugs walked up to stand menacingly behind the first.

"Me, I thought a pretty girl like you might be looking for a certain kind of company." Maka glared, spots of pink appearing on her cheeks from embarrassment.

"No. Go away."

"Hey now cutie. Not very nice. C'mon, I'll even buy you a drink."

"I already said no." His face darkened.

"Fine. Guess I'm gonna have to be a little less of a gentleman." He grabbed at her roughly. Maka broke the grip, and with a sharp jerk, the arm. There was an audible crack.

"Freddie!" The two other thugs roared, half in surprise and half in rage. One tried to barrel into Maka, the other close on his heels. She kicked out contemptuously, tangling his feet mid step and sending him crashing into the wall. The last, noticing the unfortunate case of his two friends, held up his hands.

"Hey lady, I don't got nothing against you..." Maka pointed to the other two.

"You should take Freddie to a hospital, his arm is broken. The other one is mostly fine." Then she got an idea. "By the way, do you know the Thompson sisters? Liz and Patty?"

"Well sure." He said, shaking Freddie. "I work for 'em. Unofficially."

"Great! Could you tell me where they are?"

"May sound a bit weird, but they usually hang out in this department store. It's called Patty Cakes. Don't ask me, the crazy one named it."

"Named it?" Maka asked. This was certainly interesting.

"Yeah. They own most everything around here." He finally got his friends up, and they staggered off. "Just don't blame me if something happens to you. Those two are a couple of evil bitches." He called back.

"I know them pretty well. I think I'll be ok." The three staggered off into the night, two groaning loudly. Just then, Soul came out of the bar.

"What happened to you?"

"These three guys. One of them was pretty nice actually."

"Should I ask?"

"Nothing bad happened. Well. We got into a bit of a fight and I broke somebody's arm. And then knocked another one out. But the last one had a bit of sense. He told me Liz and Patty should be at a department store." Soul snorted.

"Well, seems you got more being mugged than I did interrogating everyone in that bar. So, what's it called?"

"Patty Cakes. The guy said Liz and Patty own everything near here, and that Patty wanted to rename it." Soul looked worried.

"Weren't they criminals before Kid came along?"

"Yeah, I think."

"And that book said Lord Death hid Kid. But it didn't say how. You think he changed history too, changing Kid's history?"

"Maybe. But we don't have any idea. Maybe they just came back here for some reason." Soul snorted.

"Yeah. Because everything lately has been nothing but smiles." The two headed off into the dark to look for the Thompsons.

They found a late night shopper, asked her for directions, and headed for the store. It was a big, brightly lit place, the windows filled with expensive clothes and accessories. Soul nudged Maka. "Be careful. You might develop fashion sense and want to buy something."

"Shut up. Idiot."

"Just saying. The one thing you can do is formal. Everything else you wear makes you look like a hipster or ten years old." He grinned broadly even when Maka hit him. They walked in, scanning the building. Maka pointed to a map.

"It's two stories."

"And huge." Soul commented, looking around at the cavernous building.

"But there's a managers office. You think someone there might know?"

"Worth a shot." They headed up the stairs and for a plain wooden door. Maka knocked twice. A short, plump woman in a white designer suit opened the door.

"Can I help you." Her tone indicated that what she really meant was 'How can I get you to leave.'

"Yes. We were looking for two friends of ours? Liz and Patty Thompson?"

"One moment please." The woman shut the door. A minute later, it was opened back up.

"You can come in. Any dangerous articles? Weapons of any kind?"

"Well technically-" Maka began.

"No." Soul said, cutting her off. The woman gave them a funny look, but let them in. The office was bigger than it indicated from the unremarkable door. Soul and Maka looked around at the comfortable, spacious room. The carpet was thick and white, and the wall facing the street was entirely glass, affording a nice view of the street below. And in the center was a huge desk, one half cluttered and disorganized, the other obsessively tidy and almost empty. In two large chairs at the desk were Liz and Patty, each in a pale business suit.

"Do we know you?" Liz asked.

"It seems not." Maka replied. This was already going badly. "But we need your help with something."

"Hey sis. We should kick them out." Patty said, folding a sheet of paper into an airplane. On it's first, maiden flight, it met Liz's outstretched hand and fell to the ground with a crumpled nose.

"Stop that. But I agree." Patty shifted and changed into a heavy, silver pistol, And Liz aimed carefully to point straight at Maka. "Out. We're busy. Don't come here again." Definitely not going well. The sisters hardly seemed like themselves any more. Except for the gun bit.

"This isn't going well." Soul remarked. Maka glared.

"Look, we just-"

"Want to be walking away. Right now."

"Not an option. Sorry." Maka replied. She went rolling behind the desk as a bullet went tearing through the wall where she had been standing. Maka vaulted over, kicking Patty out of Liz's hand before Liz could fire again. She had to subdue the two and find whatever clue Lord Death had hidden, before any security arrived.

"Maka. Get out!" Soul said sharply. "I'll explain later!" Trusting his advice, Maka dived out the window, Soul right behind her. He glowed and changed into a scythe, and Maka felt the familiar rush of power. With her newly enhanced body, she slammed Soul's blade up to the shaft into the wall, sending up a spray of stone and slowing their fall. They dropped to the street, and Maka took off, bullets sending up chips of pavement behind her. All around her, thugs seemed to appear out of the alleyways, a good thirty or forty in total. Maka looked around warily, holding Soul defensively. Liz and Patty came out of the department store. "Kill them both." Liz called. The thugs pulled out an assortment of nasty implements, mostly knives of various lengths.

"Definitely not our best plan." Came Soul's tinny voice.

"We shouldn't kill them. Do you see a good way to just run?"

"A lot of them have guns. Only reason they haven't used them is because they might hit their buddies. Even if we could get out we would likely be gunned down."

"Great. Here goes then." As the thugs advanced, Maka swung Soul in a crushing blow, knocking two thugs into the ground. She started spinning the scythe in a whirl, picking up speed as she gained momentum. Maka waded into the mass of thugs like she was cresting a wave, breaking bones with the heavy blunt pole and the flat of the blade. One lunged with a cleaver, and Maka had to block. Her momentum was gone, and the thugs started to close in. She swung in wild arcs, trying to use her reach advantage to keep them at bay. One got the bright idea of hurling a broken bottle, which she shattered in a spray of green glass chunks. More debris was hurled, only about half of it actually coming close, but Maka was forced to cut it from the air. It was getting harder to move. If they got much closer they would be inside Soul's reach, and then it would be over. As she knocked another bottle from the air and continued the motion, slamming Soul into a hulk of a man holding a pair of combat knives, she had an idea. Taking a couple quick steps and planting the pole into the man's unconscious body, she vaulted upwards, sailing through the air into the outer ring of henchmen. Her boots hit someone's face face and their head hit the pavement as Maka whirled Soul in a wide arc before anyone could react. Rushing forward, she knocked one man out of the way with the flat of the blade. She was out of the press, and close to being able to lose herself between the buildings.

"Shoot her!" Patty screamed. The thugs drew guns and fired at Maka as she dashed into an alley. One bullet caught her arm, and she gasped in pain. But she couldn't slow down. Hurtling down the alley, she cut right, jumped through a window into someone's apartment, and broke through their door to the other side. She looked over her shoulder. While none of the henchmen were in sight, she could hear them yelling. Quickly she lost herself in the maze of alleys, heading for the bridge out of town.

"Maka! The roof!" For a moment, she couldn't understand what Soul was trying to tell her. Then she noticed. Gunman. She dove behind a dumpster just in time as a bullet cracked into the metal, jarring her arm as she landed. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she felt around in the rubbish, finding a garbage can lid. Standing, the girl hurled it at the gunman. He ducked and it sailed over his head, but by that point Maka was already off, weaving between the narrow alleys. Finally they broke out of the labyrinth and onto the main street. People screamed and scattered at the sight of Maka holding the massive scythe, and absolutely panicked when the gunmen appeared as well. She sprinted down the road, which led across the bridge. Two hundred feet. Cars screeched to a halt as the girl cut in front of them, and bullets tore through windshields. Maka crouched low for cover, then took off again, feet pounded into the pavement as she sprinted. A hundred feet. Fifty. She cleared the road and cut right, heading into the suburbs. The thugs let her go, too far behind to keep up with the fleet footed Meister. They tried a few half hearted shots, but all they could do was watch as Maka and Soul disappeared into a carefully sculpted forest.


	6. Rest Stop Surgery

"You really have a habit of getting beat to shit, don't you." Soul commented. They were huddled up under the rocky overhang where they had stashed the bike, and Soul was rummaging in the medical kit.

"This really wasn't on purpose." Maka replied.

"Huh. Coulda fooled me. The skin looks puffy, and its going to get infected if it isn't already. You've also lost a fair amount of blood, and it won't heal right if we leave it in there. You should count yourself lucky it didn't hit an artery."

"What you're saying is we need to get it out." Soul nodded grimly.

"It went most of the way through, but didn't get all the way out. This is going to hurt." Maka shivered slightly, but allowed Soul to lay her on the ground. He pulled out a long pair of tweezers and a lighter. Flicking the lighter, Soul used it to sterilize the tweezers. "Lay your arm flat, the hole facing up. And try not to move." Maka gritted her teeth as Soul gently lowered in the metal tweezers. He poked gently, found the lump of metal, and pulled. Maka screamed, jerking involuntarily. Blood sprayed a bit, but Soul kept a tight grip on the bullet. With one smooth motion, he drew it out. "Shh. Shh. It's ok now." Maka sobbed with pain.

"Ow oh fucking shit ow." She almost never swore, and that almost rattled Soul more than the injury itself.

"You ready for me to sew it up?" She shook her head.

"Just... just give me a moment." She lay on the ground, gasping. He knew she was trying hard not to cry. Gently, he ran a finger down her cheek. "You're doing fine. Shh. It's ok." He waited another moment until-

"Ok. Do it." She flinched as the cold disinfectant wash trickled down. Soul waited a beat, then started sewing. Maka gasped as he tightened it, then tied it off. Soul pulled a long gauze bandage and wrapped a length of it tightly around the arm.

"Done." He told her. She panted a moment.

"Getting shot is awful." She remarked.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Soul asked, trying a grin. Maka rasped a laugh.

"Are there any painkillers?" She asked.

"Just the cheap ones. They won't do much good."

"Placebo effect will help too. Gimme."

"Geek. I don't even know what that meant." Maka swallowed a handful of small capsules.

"The placebo effect is where your body changes certain things in it's chemistry to make what it thinks should happen happen." She said. Soul grunted.

"Eh. I'll have forgotten that by tomorrow." Maka sat up.

"Hey Soul."

"Yeah?"

"I'm cold." He moved closer, carefully wrapping arms around her.

"Better?" In response, she grasped the back of his head with her uninjured arm and kissed him. "Someone's feeling better." Soul said dryly when they broke apart.

"Little bit." Maka said sleepily. Then she yawned. "I'm exhausted."

"Give me just a second." He untangled himself and got out the book Lord Death had given them. "Is there a pen in here?"

"Second pocket on the left." Maka murmured. "Why."

"In the morning. You're half asleep already. We can figure it out later." He said, scribbling quickly in the margin. Returning the book and pen to the bag, he put it on the ground and lay down, using it as a pillow. Maka settled down on top of him, head on his chest.

"You're really comfortable." She said, yawning again, more deeply this time. Moments later the girl was asleep.


	7. Direction

When Maka woke up, Soul was already awake. He hadn't moved, instead just running his fingers through her hair and watching the sunrise. Maka decided not to spoil the moment, and it was fifteen minutes before he noticed she was up.

"You know, your hair looks weird without the pigtails." He commented.

"You say the weirdest things. You do realize I don't exactly have time to fiddle with it every morning. At least, not any more." Soul grunted.

"Hows the arm." He asked. Experimentally, Maka moved it a little.

"Ow ow ow."

You know, you're actually pretty lucky. That was about as low caliber as it gets. Any bigger and we might have real problems."

"I really don't think I would describe this as lucky." Maka muttered. She shivered almost absently. "Recovery time, even for a Meister is an average of a month for a gunshot wound of the type you described. Four weeks Soul." She started shaking almost violently. "I'm an idiot." Soul tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Angrily she swatted it off. "Leave me alone."

"Just let me say one thing." Soul held up the notebook. "I found what we came for. I wrote it on the cover last night. Some sort of code on Patty's barrel. I think it might be what Lord Death meant." Maka didn't respond. Soul scooted closer, showing it to her. Seeing it, she perked up a little.

"That's an old DWMA cypher." She said. "Let me work it out. Give me the pen." Soul passed it to her, and she scribbled furiously with her undamaged arm. Finally, she had it.

"N 88." He read. "Thats only half of what we need." Maka slumped back.

"I thought we were so close... and we can't go back. Not for four. Weeks!" She was yelling by the end.

"Why would that help? Weren't Patty and Liz always identical looking? At least in weapon form?" He said slowly, thinking every word through.

"Wait a minute." Maka muttered. "Show me the original message." Soul held up the book for her. She pointed at one of the symbols. "This right here. It's tilted. Was it like that when you saw it?"

"Yeah. I just copied this as best I could."

"And then if it was a reflection..." She started scratching away.

"What are you doing."

"You said they were identical. But that isn't true. Their weapon forms were mirror images. So if we do that..." She finished. "You get 88 \/\/\/ 88."

"But what does that little thing in the middle mean." Maka traced along it with a finger.

"Coordinates are based on poles. North, South, East, and West. N, S, W, and E. But you can only make two of those with that shape in the middle. W and N."

"That seems a little shaky."

"Well, it's all we've got." They sat for a moment. "My arm really hurts. Can you pass me more painkillers?" She downed another handful of the little blue pills. "We need an atlas. Or some kind of map with coordinates."

"I'll need to go back into the city for that." Soul said. Maka nodded.

"Be careful, ok?"

"Yeah yeah. I'll be back. Get some rest while I'm gone. It's gonna be a good ten hours."

"Ok. Be careful Soul." He flashed a cocky grin.

"This from the person who got shot a few hours ago? Take your own advice." Maka glared.

"Idiot. Shoo. I'm taking a nap."

"Be back." He said, walking off down the beach. Maka settled back onto the backpack and watched him fade from view. She started munching on some trail mix, and downed large gulps of water. She would need it to replace lost blood. When she was full, she looked up at the rocky overhang. She was worried about Soul. And herself really. She could hardly concentrate on anything else but keeping them both alive. Things were just happening too fast, and he was all she had to hold on to. Maka felt very alone. And she still hadn't really told Soul how she felt. Somehow, it seemed important, those three little words. I love you. Maka drifted off to sleep, mumbling them to herself over and over. I love you, Soul. I love you. Don't leave me.


	8. Reassurance and Petty Theft

Maka blinked lazily, bright sunlight streaming down. She must not have been asleep long if it was still light out. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Morning." Soul said.

"Gah! What are you doing back!" Maka squeaked.

"It's been bit more than a day." He flicked a thin red book at her. "Atlas."

"Where'd you get it?" She asked, flipping the book to a world map.

"Stole it." He replied. She gave him a look.

"Soul..."

"We have no money other than a bank account which would tell Asura exactly where we are. I didn't have much of a choice." Maka sighed.

"I know. It's just... it feels wrong. We help people. Shoplifting just seems..."

"Yeah, I know. Petty? But we don't really have much choice. Besides. It was ten bucks. They won't even notice it's gone."

"I suppose what's done is done." She stabbed a spot on the map with a finger. "The coordinates lead right here." Soul glanced over.

"That's in the middle of the ocean." Maka chewed her lip.

"Sometimes there are small islands or icebergs nobody bothers to document. I suppose it's possible."

"Or we did something wrong." Maka sighed in exasperation.

"Look. That's how it decodes. Trust me, ok?"

"Sorry. I'm just... tense." He sat down heavily beside her. "I'm trying to keep calm, for you, but... we aren't doing so well. And most friends have all tried to kill us. Kill you. And they've almost succeeded twice." He lay back against his motorcycle. "I'm just a little out of it. I'll be fine."

"It's harder now isn't it." Maka murmured. "Half the time anything happens I can barely concentrate because I'm worried sick. We don't have other people backing us up, people we can trust to be there if we need them. Now... I feel so alone." Soul slung an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm still here." She leaned in.

"Yeah. I know." The two sat there for a while. Slowly, the sky darkened into afternoon. "The sunset looks amazing." Maka commented.

"Yeah. We got a great view from here." Soul replied, watching the sun turn the clouds into tendrils of purple and orange fire.

"Hey Soul." Maka said. She shifted a little bit. "There's something I should have said a while ago." The girl hugged him as fiercely as she could with one arm. "I love you." For a moment, Soul seemed like he was in shock. Then he breathed one, long sigh.

"I love you too." He murmured. Maka shifted onto his lap, burying her face in his chest. After a moment Soul shifted slightly. "Get off. I'll be right back."

"Mkay. Where are you going?"

"Sleeping bag." He said, dusting himself off. He headed for the nearby sparse rows of houses. About twenty minutes later he came back, a black drawstring bag slung over his back. "Most people just leave them in an unlocked garage." He explained. "I figured I might as well grab one, while we were here. I think this one's pretty big." Maka stood up as well.

"We should be moving. We'll need to find a plane to get out to the ocean. Got any ideas?" Their brief moment was gone. Time to be practical again.

"A few. We'd have to continue our crime spree."

"A tiny book and a sleeping bag hardly counts as a crime spree."

"A plane might though."

"You make a good point." She watched as Soul wheeled the bike back onto the road, then climbed behind him. With a roar of the engine, they took off down the road. Maka felt things were definitely looking up, if they managed to live through this.


	9. Tender Moments

Soul and Maka sped down the highway.

"So where are we going?" Maka asked above the wind.

"Someone's house. They keep a private plane there."

"Who owns it?" Soul paused a while before answering.

"My brother." They rode in silence after that. After a few hours, Soul said "We should find somewhere for the night. It'll be another three hours until we get there. And it would just be stupid to go all this way to get hit by a truck." Soul guided the bike off the highway and into some nearby woods. They found a large, broad leaved tree, and spread the sleeping bag under it.

"Looks like it might rain tonight." Maka commented. Soul didn't say anything, just lay down on the ground. "Weren't we um..." She started, then paused. "going to share?" She finished quietly. He started to talk and she cut him off. "I mean, if you don't want to it's fine just I would really-"

"Sorry." He muttered. "I was just... never mind." He shed his coat, stuffed it in the bag, and climbed in. Maka gently wrapped her good arm around him.

"Hey Soul. What's wrong." He sighed heavily.

"My brother didn't come to the congratulation party. I never liked him much, but I didn't heard any mention of him my parents. That... never happens." Maka rocked him back and forth.

"I'm sure that no matter what's happened to everyone, we'll fix it in time." Hesitantly, he hugged her back.

"Thanks. Still. Tsubaki... Tsubaki is dead now. I'm worried he is too. He was always their pride and joy, and my parents were always talking about his latest concert."

"Thats right. He's a musician." Maka said. Then she laughed softly. "Idiot. You don't need to act so tough all the time. It's ok to be worried." He chuckled, rubbing his neck.

"I'll consider it. Now go to sleep."

"I took a day long nap. I'm not that tired." In response, Soul kissed her. Slow at first, then with a rising intensity, his hands roamed her body. Maka broke apart for a moment. "If you start trying to take anything off, I will ram your head into this tree. One arm or no." Soul only laughed. They moved gently under the sleeping bag, kissing and touching. It was gentle and sweet and Maka let go in a way she hadn't in a long time. She didn't worry, she didn't think. She just enjoyed the moment. Finally, she stopped, pulling a finger she had been biting out of her mouth.

"That was..." Soul started. Maka hushed him.

"Don't ruin it." She cuddled close, clinging to him. "Hey Soul. Sing me something."

"Like what."

"I dunno. You're the musician. Pick something." He thought a moment.

"Ok, I have something. You might like it." His voice started to hum a tune. Then he started to sing, softly into her ear. Maka shivered at the sound. "Hark said the little leatherwing bat. I'll tell you the reason that, the reason that I fly by night is because I've lost my hearts delight." His voice danced through the notes, rising and falling. "Hi said the woodpecker sitting on a bench, once I courted a handsome wench, but she got saucy and from me fled, ever since then my heads been red." Maka almost shivered as Soul's voice dipped lower and lower, giving the song an eerie cast. "Hi said the little bird so blue, if I'd a been a young man I'd have had two, so if one got saucy and wanted to go I'd have me a new string to my bow." Maka looked at the stars as Soul went on. "Oh, said the owl with his head so white, a lonesome day, a lonesome night, I thought I heard some pretty girl say, court all night and sleep all day." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Hi said the lonesome turtledove, I'll tell you how to gain her love, keep her up both night and day, never give her time to say go away." And finally, so quietly Maka had to shift closer and strain her ears ""Hark said the little leatherwing bat. I'll tell you the reason that, the reason that I fly by night is because I've lost my hearts delight." She lay quietly for a little while, listening to the noises of the forest at night.

"You have a talent for making any song creepy." He grinned in the darkness.

"My specialty. So, how did you like it?"

"Very nice, but kind of sad. Bittersweet. None of them were very happy."

"It was about birds." He told her, dry amusement in his tone.

"Still! Depressed birds!" Maka said, giving him a small cuff. They were silent for a bit.

"Hey Maka."

"Mhmm?" She said sleepily.

"I love you. I'm glad you're here."

"I love you too." She cradled his head in her good arm. "Never leave me." They drifted off to the chirp of crickets and the steady sigh of each other's breath.


	10. Gas Station Heist

Maka woke up the next morning when Soul tried to sneak out of the sleeping bag and failed, accidentally jabbing an elbow into her stomach.

"It's a little small to get out without waking me up." She mumbled.

"I realized that. Though I have some bad news."

"Great." Maka muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"We're out of food. And almost out of water." She rolled over to see him holding the trail mix bag, almost completely empty.

"That's a bit of a problem."

"Well, it's been a week. And all we brought was one bag of this crap."

"You said water too. Please tell me that isn't gone."

"Well, we haven't been by a gas station in a while. No bathrooms to sneak into and get our bottles filled up." Maka sighed.

"Ok. We need to stop somewhere soon." She licked her dry lips. "Let's get going. We won't find anything sitting here."

"Right as always." Soul said. He rolled the bike near the road while Maka packed their stuff. Then they were off again. After half an hour of loud protests from her stomach, Maka spotted a gas station.

"Turn off there." She said, pointing. They rumbled up and walked in. "Do you have a bathroom?" Maka asked politely. The skinny guy behind the counter nodded.

"Down there to the left." He answered in a nasal whine. Maka opened it up and almost immediately regretted it. It was like the smell had become a living thing. Delicately tiptoeing around pools of urine, she started to fill up the first bottle. Then the second. Every moment was torture, and as soon as she was finished she fled.

"Ick ick ick!" She muttered to herself. As soon as she got back into the actual store, she stopped short. Soul's arm had become a scythe blade, which was currently positioned under the clerks neck.

"Soul!" She said angrily. "Cut that out!"

"Look, we need cash. At least now we get all our stealing done at once." The cashier pushed over a small pile of cash, which Soul pocketed. "Wallet too." He told the guy. A small wad of bills was extracted, and Soul's arm shimmered back into being a normal arm. "Let's go." He walked out carrying an armload of plastic bags.

"Sorry about that." Maka said to the cashier, who was trembling a little. "He's really a great guy. We're just... um... in a bit of trouble."

"Please get going miss." He said. "And turn your crazy boyfriend in to the cops." Maka sighed.

"I'll consider it. Sorry again. I'll try and make it up to you." She opened the door and stalked out.

"What took you." Soul asked. She tossed him the bag and he stowed his ill gotten gains.

"I was apologizing! You were kind of a jerk!"

"I'm sorry that there isn't a polite way to rob a store." Soul replied drily. "Maybe next time I can leave a bouquet of apology flowers." Maka had to laugh. "You're still a jerk. But I guess we don't need to starve to death." They roared out of the parking lot and hurtled down the highway. "Hey Soul. Next time you rob a store, you should get us pirate hats. So we can look the part, you know?"

"You are so weird."


	11. The Manor in the Woods

Two hours later they arrived at an elegant country mansion, miles from civilisation.

"My brother is a bit antisocial." Soul explained. "So this is where he lives. He claims he can't write any music without quiet." They walked up and knocked. No answer. Soul rang the doorbell in a steady rhythm. Still nothing. "Screw it." He muttered. His arm blazed and was replaced with the scythe blade, which he slashed down the seam of the door, then changed it back. When he pulled the door open, the only thing either of them could see was blackness. Maka looked over, noticing subtle changes in his face. He may not look it, but he was worried. She took his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"It doesn't matter what's happened. We'll fix it." She reassured him.

"I know, but... that doesn't make it any better." Soul said, his voice rough. They stepped in and flicked on a light, revealing an entry hall with a huge staircase twisting upward, and hallways leading away.

"Hello little brother." Came a crackling, electronic voice. "Welcome to my humble abode." There was a dry chuckle. "Come find me. We should talk. I'm somewhere around here after all. Wouldn't do much good to tell you where, you've never visited after all, and I... well. You can see for yourself." There was a click.

"Soul? Do you know what he meant?" Soul looked thoughtful.

"Nope. Let's start looking." They padded down one hallway, peering into each and every room. Soul ran his finger along an expensive mahogany table. It came away grey with dust. "He hasn't been using any of this. Not like him. Wes holds... held all sorts of gatherings of high society." Maka could hear the obnoxious quotation marks around the last two words.

"Well he's obviously here. You can ask him when you see him." Just then, the crackling voice returned.

"I was trying to set a mood with all this, but I reconsidered. Go up the stairs. Second door on the left. I'll be waiting." There was another click. Soul's pace quickened as he hurried back down the hallway, then quickly ascended the stairs. Maka trailed behind him, jogging every few steps to keep up with his longer stride. Soul crossed to the door, paused, took a breath, and opened it. Maka peered over his shoulder as they both went inside. It was a large, spacious, sitting room. There was a set of armchairs clustered around a coffee table, a large desk of oiled dark wood, and a row of bookcases lining the walls. In one of the chairs was a small, slight figure wrapped in a blanket, who bore a strong resemblance to Soul. "Sorry." The figure croaked. The voice boomed through the house as speakers broadcast the voice. "I'm a bit under the weather. How's things, little brother."

"Wes." Soul said. "You sound awful."

"I feel worse than I look, much as I would like to say otherwise." He smiled dryly. "The accident. You remember." Soul's face had lost a shade of color.

"You may need to remind me." He said quietly. Wes's face screwed up in rage, and he started twitching violently.

"MY ARMS!" He roared. "A LEG!" The blanket fell off of one shoulder, revealing a bare, scarred stump. Soul went ashen. "MY! MUSIC!" Wes finished with a shriek. He went very calm, and very still. "It's cold, Soul. Would you put my blanket back on?" Soul crossed the room and gently replaced it. His brother nodded. "Thank you." He grimaced. "So, may I ask who the young lady is?" Soul's face went to the other spectrum of color, reddening noticeably.

"Maka. My..." He paused a moment. "Girlfriend. And Meister." Wes inspected her with interest.

"Really?" He smiled slightly. "Apologies for the cliche, but I thought you'd be taller." He coughed, a wet, hacking sound. "Much as I would like to do some catching up, especially with Ms. Maka, to business. Presumably you are here for a favor?" Soul nodded.

"We need to borrow the plane."

"Romantic getaway?" Wes inquired.

"Something like that."

"You wouldn't be, oh, fleeing justice on some self righteous quest, would you?" Wes's smile turned sharp as glass.

"No. Nothing like that." Soul grinned. "Well, not the fleeing justice bit. But the self righteous quest is a specialty."

"I've heard differently." Wes murmured. "There was a warrant for your arrest, little brother." He said more clearly. "And I was happy to oblige. Anything for our saviors and protectors, the DWMA." There were two clicks, like a gun being cocked. Maka whirled, only to stare down the barrel of an oversized pistol. She could see a brutish man behind the barrel, and another like him, his gun trained on Soul.

"What happened to you, Wes." Soul asked. Maka heard the pleading tone in his voice, even if few others would. Mostly he just sounded tired. "What happened to you." Wes grinned evilly.

"You happened. I'll remind you if you insist. It was our first, only concert together. Remember? When those two bit thugs came in the door? Of course someone panicked, someone always panics. You. You didn't." He seemed to be biting off each word. "Just shut up. You tried to run. And they turned to shoot, and I tried to cover you." He grimaced sharply. "Seven bullets. None in the torso, none in the head. They tore through my arms instead. My leg. Broke bones. Severed nerves. I was lucky not to die. But I wasn't lucky enough to even be able to WALK!" He screamed the last word. "So, I would like to introduce Fred and Carl. Boring names, boring men. Men who will do one thing, one awful thing, and then disappear." He shivered under his blanket. "But this time, they shoot you. Not me." Wes looked over Maka's shoulder to the two men. He was opening his mouth when Soul cut him off.

"What are you going to do." Soul asked, like he might be asking for the time instead.

"Shoot you. Not fatally. The warrant asks for you alive. But maybe... damage a few things." He nodded to Maka. "Your pretty little thing, I believe, should be the one to suffer. Otherwise you might get some noble idea you saved her. We can't have that." Soul nodded calmly. Then tapped his pinky finger on his thigh. A signal. Each Meister-Weapon pair made their own set of them as part of normal instruction at the DWMA. He had just told Maka I'll distract. Idiot. Soul moved in a blur, without any sort of warning, one arm burning with an icy blue light as it changed while he leapt for his brother. Maka didn't hesitate, instead turning and lashing out. She took the closer thugs gun, breaking his finger with a snap as she ripped it away and hurled it at the other. He turned and shot at the sudden movement, the bullet taking his partner in the neck. Blood flew as Maka surged forwards, delivering a brutal kick and then a hard blow to the head. Thug number two collapsed and Maka turned to see Soul, whispering in Wes's ear, the blade of his changed arm resting on his brothers neck. Then he straightened. Wes was panting, his eyes wild.

"Are you ok?" Maka asked quietly.

"Never been better." Soul replied, his voice rough and almost strangled. Idiot. He always had to act like a hardass.

"STOP!" Wes screeched. "NO!" He rolled and flopped like a fish trying to breath. Awkwardly falling out of the chair, he landed on the coffee table, his mouth closed around something. Maka looked in alarm and saw a detonator. "Die!" Wes screamed. Then his eyes widened and Maka heard a wet crunch. Soul had rammed his scythe arm through Wes's neck, so hard it had stuck in the coffee table. There was a small spray of blood as Soul tugged his changed arm free, and his brother fell limp, blood pooling and dripping to the carpeted floor, the detonator rattling on the table as it fell from his limp mouth. Soul stood, numb. His arm glowed faintly, returning to it's normal shape. It joined the other hanging limply at his side. Maka crossed the room to hold his hand.

"Come on." She said, tugging him forward. "Please. Come on. We don't need to be here. Please leave." Numb, he allowed her to push him out. As Maka closed the door behind them he collapsed into a heap, leaning against the wall. Maka knelt in front of him and pulled him close as his body shook with sobs. "Shh." She murmured, rocking him back and forth like a child. "I'm here. Shhh." Soul leaned forward, resting his head on her chest. She could feel her t-shirt getting damp from his tears. Maka cradled his face in her both hands, ignoring the screaming pain of her injured arm, which had started oozing blood from the brief fight. "We're going to fix this Soul." She told him. "Everything is going to be ok. I promise. I promise."

"You've got a pretty good record with keeping those." He said quietly, his voice raw and pained. He took a deep, shuddering breath. "I trust you. Now let's get out of here." They made their way down the stairs and out the door with Soul leaning heavily on Maka. "Ok." He said quietly. "Let's find that plane." He gestured to a small hangar on the other end of the property. "Over there." They opened it up and found a small passenger plane, comfortable, but with only four seats. Maka dropped the backpack to the floor and Soul climbed into the pilot seat, grabbing a few spare cans of fuel as he did.

"Do you know how to fly this?" She asked.

"Hopefully. I took a class once." Maka stared in mild horror. Soul grinned, just a shadow of his usual smirk. "It's one of the few I actually payed attention in. And I used to go flying with..." His face clouded for a moment, then cleared. "We'll be fine." Maka huddled in the copilot seat as Soul flipped a few switches. He certainly looked like he knew what he was doing. But she wasn't much worried about the flight. After a few seconds the plane started forward, picking up speed. They pulled up smoothly and flattened out. "Which way?" Soul asked. Maka decided to act normal. Soul wouldn't want to talk until later, if ever. All she could do know was stay strong for him. She pulled out the atlas. "We're here... so... turn left. She peered at the compass. "Stop." They stopped turning.

"You sure this is the right way?"

"I marked our path while we were on the road. I'm certain to within about five miles, and from this high we should be able to spot it."

"Geek." Soul told her. Maka unzipped the backpack and looked at what food Soul had gotten.

"Really?" She asked him, holding up a huge bag of chocolate. He grinned for real this time.

"Candy for gunshot victims." Maka swatted him.

"Let's see." She muttered, rooting through the rest. "More trail mix, beef jerky, canned pasta... looks pretty good." She pulled out the beef jerky and started chewing. "Though really. Chocolate?" Soul shrugged.

"Hey, if you're gonna hold up a gas station, why not?" Maka sighed in exasperation as they sailed onwards.


	12. Nightmare

They landed late that night in a wide field.

"Looks like rain. Want to just sleep on the plane?" Soul asked. Maka shrugged.

"Ok." They lay the sleeping bag on the metal floor.

"Cold ravioli for dinner." Soul muttered, opening it with his scythe blade.

"Doesn't that seem a bit too much?" Maka asked. He shrugged.

"Until you find me a can opener, I'll go with it." They went through three whole cans before calling it quits. Maka rolled on her side and looked at Soul.

"You have tomato sauce on your lip." She told him, pointing. He licked it off. They lay quietly for a few minutes.

"Tell me something." Soul asked finally.

"Mhmm?"

"Did you really believe what you said? About how we're going to fix things?" Maka was silent for a moment. Then she nodded.

"Yes. I really do." She said simply. "And we're almost there. Just a little longer, and this can all be over." He pulled her close.

"Maybe not all of it." He murmured. "I don't know about you but there's a few thing I'd like to hang onto." Maka smiled.

"You are awfully sappy." She told him. He made a little half shrug. Then sighed.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For making me believe I can get my brother back. We never really talked. I regret that. But now I think I can fix things with him." Maka shifted and hugged him.

"I was really worried. You know, I don't think I've ever seen you so upset. Then again, well, you know, if you're going to be upset over anything... anyway I'm just glad you're ok." Soul grinned cockily for a moment.

"Hey. You know me. I always keep my cool." His words had a bitter edge to them, but Maka still laughed gently.

"Yeah, you do."

"Hows your arm. I just noticed it bled a little bit."

"I think it's fine."

"Well let me take a look." Maka had already checked it on the plane ride, but it felt good for him to fuss over her. She stripped off her now dirty, bloody, ripped hoodie, originally a light orange and now more like a dirt brown. "Looks fine. Good." Soul said, carefully examining it and applying a little bit more antiseptic. They lay quietly for a little bit, breathing in rhythm. Almost absently, Maka gave him a small kiss on the cheek. He pulled her in and replied in kind, fierce and passionate and somehow desperate. "May I have this dance?" He asked. Maka, only newly in possession of her mouth back, took a second to reply.

"What are you talking about?" He didn't reply, only shifting position slightly and then Maka couldn't talk any more. She was pulled on top of him, and his hands wandered aimlessly. They started shedding clothes until it was skin on skin, a few strips of cloth being the only thing between them. It was hot and sweaty inside the sleeping bag, the nylon clinging unpleasantly. But it felt so good. Maka knew Soul wasn't really fine, that he was trying to distract himself. And... she was almost ok with that. Almost. But it sickened her in a way, so when he started fiddling with the catch on her bra she murmured-

"No. Not now." He nodded and they slowed. Then just lay there, breathing heavily. Finally Soul murmured

"You're right. Sorry." He laughed halfheartedly. "I'm really not entirely sane right now."

"Should you be?" Maka asked quietly, resting on his chest. He sighed.

"No. Suppose not." He sighed again. "This whole thing seems unreal. I half believe none of it's really happening" Maka made a small noise of agreement.

"But... well. We know it is. Though you're right. It's like a nightmare. Every time I wake up I half expect everything to be back to normal." Soul nodded absently.

"Exactly." He seemed troubled.

"What?" Maka asked.

"Nothing. Go to sleep. It's nothing." Maka decided not to pry.

"Goodnight then."


	13. Saving the World

They took off early the next morning after filling the plane back up. Soul was silent and distracted the entire flight, and Maka didn't want to bother him. He talked if he needed it and otherwise he figured things out on his own. After a few hours, Maka knew they were getting close, and said so.

"Ok. Keep an eye out then." By this point they were over the ocean.

"Hey Soul."

"Yeah?"

"Look at this." Maka said, pointing at an iceberg. She checked the readout of the instruments, and looked at her marked up atlas. "This should be the place. Get close to that iceberg." Soul tilted the controls, and they passed over it. Looking down with her face pressed to the glass, Maka saw it had a rough shape of a skull. "Land." She told Soul. "This is definitely it."

"About landing." He replied. "You do realize this plane doesn't float. Or have anything at all that would let us touch down safely." He thought over that for a moment. "Damn. What do we do."

"Slow down as much as you can. I'll try and figure something out."

"Please tell me we aren't just jumping." Maka smiled, fierce and bright and confident, like she hadn't in a while.

"You got any other plans?"

"Sometimes, I really doubt your sanity." She bent over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine." The plane dipped down, pulling up above the iceberg, coasting barely above the water. Soul pulled it into a loose circle, slowing down as he did so.

"If I slow it any more, it's going to fall." He told Maka. "We're pushing it as it is."

"Ok. Let's do it then!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door facing the inside of their curving flight. "Mind changing?" Soul nodded and glowed blue, flowing into a scythe.

"What's the plan. We're still going over a hundred miles an hour." His distorted voice asked.

"This." Maka concentrated, channeling the storm of power inside Soul. The blade of the scythe glowed, then with a metallic crunch, a blazing edge of white surrounded it, extending the blade. Maka leaped and spun in the air, slicing the plane completely in half with the shining blade. Almost immediately the plane dropped into a nosedive. Maka had gotten pulled into the back end by the sudden loss in altitude, and quickly she pulled Soul's power back into her body, fueling her muscles. Hauling herself forward, fighting the wind, she crawled to the edge of the plane and swung herself up and out. She drifted in the air beside the two halves of the plane, in complete freefall. Maka angled herself in a skydivers position and braced herself for impact. The water rushed up to meet her and she fell, feeling the colossal splash of the plane as it hit. Soul shifted and changed back into a human as Maka gasped and coughed, struggling to the surface of the freezing water.

"You were showing off." He said, sounding mildly surprised. She spluttered and choked, then managed to get air in her lungs. She smiled weakly.

"Sorry about that. I'm feeling better lately though. Not so afraid any more." Soul laughed dryly as they swam for the iceberg.

"Yeah. Wonder why." Neither of them mentioned the reason. Soon, the nightmare would be over. Soon. But it felt like if they mentioned how close they were, something would go wrong. They found a smooth slope in the iceberg, and crawled up it. Maka sat huddled, panting. Soul tried to keep her warm.

"Switch back to a scythe." She said, her teeth chattering. "I'll be stronger that way." Soul nodded and stripped off his leather jacket, mostly dry.

"Put this on. You'll feel better." He shimmered and morphed as Maka struggled into the coat, zipping it up.

"Ok!" She said brightly, the rush of power from Soul warming her up. "We're almost there. Now where to go..." The girl glanced around, looking at their surroundings. Several paths lead twisting away, fissures in the massive chunk of ice. She started down one.

"This definitely isn't normal." Soul commented. "These paths were carved."

"Mmm. That would make sense." Maka replied. The path lead deeper, spiralling into the center. After a few minutes they stepped into a huge cavern, massive icicles hanging from the ceiling. And in the center...

"Maka and Soul. We're here to take you into custody! Don't try and stop us or you won't like how it turns out!" Called Black Star. Around him were several of their old companions. Professor Stein in his lab coat, smoking a cigar. Marie at his side, her arm in his, her golden blonde head resting on his shoulder. Sid in his combat fatigues, Naigus already shifted into a combat knife at his belt.

"Looks like several of our old friends." Soul muttered.

"We're trying to help!" Called the dark haired man beside Black Star. The one who looked like Tsubaki. "Don't fight this."

In response, Maka hefted Soul.  
"Ready?" She asked.

"As I'll ever be. I'm not sure I can do this."

"They've been changed Soul. They're not themselves." Maka took a deep breath. "We have to find Kid. And none of you are going to stop us!" She screamed at the others, leaping forwards. The weapons among the other group changed, lighting the cavern with green, yellow, and white brilliance. Maka was a blur, using the slick floor to her advantage. Black Star hit her first like a runaway train, his weapon in the form of a chain. It tangled around Soul, and he leaped over Maka's head, trying to jerk Soul out of her hands. But nobody else had closed yet, and she used that against him. When he landed she jerked the scythe in a half circle, sending him spinning. He couldn't slow on the ice, and Maka used him like a flail, sending him crashing into Sid. Both went skidding away, and Maka braced herself for Stein and Marie. Out of everyone, those two were to be most feared. Stein wielded Marie like a club, sending the huge hammer thundering into the ice. Maka pushed off like an skater, avoiding the blow by a narrow margin. Next, she knew, he would hit her with the other hand. Stein was extremely skilled but always initially predictable. He brought it up in a brutal shot aimed for her stomach, and she spun out of the way, jabbing out at his face with Soul's pole. He effortlessly dodged, but Maka turned the jab into a downwards blow. He slithered away from the blow, body contorting. But it gave Maka time. When Soul struck the floor she pushed off, hurtling away. Since he was such a large weapon, she could maneuver around the room more easily than anyone. By this point Sid and Black Star had recovered, and attempted to flank. Black Star's weapon had shifted into a katana, and Maka mentally cursed. Whoever this relative of Tsubaki's was, he had her ability to become a large variety of weapons. Black Star and Sid both slid forward, their weapons extended in an attempt to skewer her. Maka dropped at the last second, and the other two skidded off balance to avoid stabbing eachother. Maka quickly assessed who was more vulnerable, and then lunged for Sid. The flat of the blade cracked into his attempt at a parry, sending Naigus spinning from his hand. Before he could react, Maka slammed the pole into his knee, and then when he fell, his temple. Sid collapsed, hitting the floor with a thud.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Black Star roared, having regained his footing. He crouched, then used his arms to propel himself forward, Stein calmly gliding behind him. Black Star raised his katana for a strike, bending slightly at the knees. He always telegraphed what he was going to do. When he jumped, Maka swept Soul up from the floor like a hockey stick. He braced himself under the impact, but it still sent him flying backwards to crash into the nearby cavern wall.

"Stop being reckless." Stein called. "We only need to slow them down. Everyone else is on the way." He started launching an astonishingly fast flurry of blows with Marie, the hammer crackling with electricity. Maka could hear Black Star getting to his feet a little ways away.

"What are you saying? I'm the best there is. We can beat these two, here and now!" Stein sighed in irritation as Maka blocked. Both of their weapons were too large to use in such close corners. The professor lashed out with his free hand, and Maka twisted away frantically. If he even got in one hit, it would be over for her. But she couldn't get away from him. Then she had an idea. When the next hit came, Maka accepted it full on the scythe, her arms feeling like they were being turned to powder, and she could feel the scab tear open on her wounded shoulder. But she was away, skidding across the ice. Maka resumed her stance, ready for the next exchange. But if what Stein said was true, she needed to get Kid and get out. Fast. So she needed a plan. She glanced around at the cavern, then noticed the ceiling. The icicles. Maka leaped backwards, twisting in the air to slam Soul into the ice. Her leap had carried her to the height of the cavern roof. She pushed off, tearing Soul free and sending her hurtling through the air, straight into the massive spears of ice. She spun Soul through them, sending them crashing to the floor, further jolting her injured arm and sending a wave of ice to the floor below. Black Star was in the path of one, and despite his best efforts it clipped him on the shoulder. Maka could hear it break from fifty feet away. He fell to the ground and Maka landed among a storm of ice shards. The floor was cracked and uneven now, providing her enough traction to move normally. Stein appeared out of the cloud, Marie raised. Maka silently cursed again. The professor was worth all the rest together, and he was barely winded. Maka was starting to feel drained, and had slowed down. Much as she didn't want to, she would have to hurt him. She used Soul's magic to create the extended blade, like she had on the plane. Before Stein could react, she crashed it down on top of him. Marie screamed, a high, metallic, piercing noise. Stein roared in anger, completely losing it. He was at his most dangerous now, but also no longer able to defend himself. The older Meister backed up and carefully laid Marie, who had changed back into a woman from the shock, on the ground. Maka felt a twinge in her chest when she saw the deep, bloody slash in the womans side. Then she refocused, just in time. Stein had closed the distance. "Favoring one shoulder." He commented, dipping under a cut from Soul. "Bleeding heavily." As he moved aside from a jab. "You're going to suffer for that." He finished calmly. Then he was through her defence, knocking Soul aside with his hand before Maka could hit him. He swept her legs out from under her and she landed in the ice, sending an incredible pain into her shoulder. Maka struggled to rise, and fell again. Stein knelt beside her. "Let us help you. We know what happened. And while you put up a good effort, you're beaten." But it had been a ruse. Maka was still mobile, barely. She had accepted the hit to lull Stein into a false sense of security. She brought up Soul and slammed it into his head, sending him crumpling to the floor beside Marie.

"No professor." Maka said weakly, getting to her feet. She used Soul like a crutch, stumbling across the cavern. "It's what's wrong with you. And we're going to fix it. We're going to save you."

"Maka. You ok?" Soul asked, shifting back to human shape to keep her upright better.

"We won Soul." She replied, smiling in relief. "Now everything can go back to normal. Everything is going to be fine."


	14. Journey's End

The next passage was mercifully short. Maka limped along, leaning heavily on Soul as they descended further into the iceberg. Her teeth were chattering and her face was so numb it hurt. Soul rubbed her torso to try and keep her warm.

"Just hang in there." He said. "Almost there."

"I-I'll b-b-be f-fine." She replied slowly, forcing the words out. They stumbled into a smaller room. In the middle was a black lacquered box about five feet by five feet. It was carved with arcane symbols and glyphs.

"What do we do now?" Soul asked.

"T-t-the b-book. D-d-d-did we l-lose it?"

"You didn't even check on it before jumping off the plane?"

"D-d-dumb."

"Maybe we can break it." Soul muttered.

"W-worth a sh-shot." Soul lay the girl gently on the floor, then his arm changed. He slammed it into the box. It rebounded, sending him stumbling off balance.

"Damn. Do you think you can swing me? I can't hit it hard enough."

"H-have t-t-to. H-help me up." She rose unsteadily with Soul's assistance, and they hobbled to the box. Maka was so cold. And tired. But she had to do this. Soul glowed and flowed into the form of a scythe, and Maka raised him high, channeling energy into the blade. It glowed with shifting neon colors, like a rainbow oil slick had coated it. If this didn't break it, it was likely nothing would. She slammed the scythe down. It rebounded like before, but sent a chip the size of Maka's fist flying. Panting, she raised it again. And brought it down. Over and over like a hammer she slammed it into the box, only her iron will keeping her upright to continue. The cavern shook from the force of the blows, and chunks of the black box went flying. After an amount of time that had lost all meaning for Maka, a crack appeared, seeping a dull red light. With a final blow, the box crumbled. Not shattered, literally crumbled into a black dust. In the center, crouching among the wreckage, was Death the Kid.

""In here!" The two started, hearing Stein's voice calling. There was the tramp like many pairs of booted feet. The reinforcements had arrived. Death the Kid rose and stood, wiping his suit.

"Worms." He murmured. There was a blast of red light, and Maka and Soul fell into blackness, the iceberg exploding in a wave of crimson fire.


	15. Rescue

Soul blinked.

"Over there! Someone's alive!" Came a voice from far away. He blinked again. Everything was cold. Cold and wet. He was floating on his back in the water. Soul tried to move, but his body wasn't responding. Everything seemed sluggish. Out of his control. Easier to just let go. Let go and go to sleep.

"Stay with me!" Called a new voice. This one was closer, and a face swam into view. Tsubaki. But... but wasn't she dead? She was dead right? Soul found it too hard to remember. The blackness at the edges of his vision rushed forwards, and he knew no more.


	16. Unwelcome Revelations

When Soul woke up again, the world was soft and warm. He sat up, looking around. The DWMA hospital. He remembered it pretty well. Hopefully, he looked to the beds on his left and right. Whenever they came back from a fight, Meisters and Weapons got put next to each other. She should be there, right? If everything had been fixed. She would be there. But no. The beds were empty. No sign of anyone sleeping in them.

"Soul Eater Evans?" Came a smooth female voice from the doorway. Soul looked up and saw Naigus.

"Where's Maka?" Soul demanded immediately.

"We... couldn't find her. I'm sorry. We think Asura might have taken her."

Dammit where is... Asura? What?" This was too much. Maka gone? Asura still here? What the hell?

"Do you really not know what's happened?" Soul shook his head, fighting back anger. Naigus nodded.

"Let me get Professor Stein to explain it to you. He has a rather... unique insight." Naigus disappeared back outside. Soul waited patiently, thinking furiously. Asura was still alive. Maka probably was, though she had been in bad shape when he saw her last. And Kid... he didn't have that kind of power. Maybe since Lord Death was gone? But then why was he in the DWMA hospital? Wouldn't they just have killed them? There was the rattle of an office chair as Stein rolled in the room. His lab coat whirled and snapped as he screeched to a halt.

"Hello Soul. Back to the land of the living, I see? Interesting." Soul took a deep breath.

"Naigus says you can explain what's happened better than she could. I'm waiting."

"Guess." Then he glanced at Soul's expression. "Ok then. Don't. You were driven insane by Asura is what happened."

"What..." Stein grinned evilly.

"You. Were. Hallucinating. Bonkers. Absolutely nuts." He seemed to be chewing over each word as they left his mouth, savoring them in his own twisted way. "Lord Death was worried when you ran off like that. So we started looking into your activities. It became clear that you two weren't in your right minds."

"But... we saw..."

"What Asura wanted you to see." Soul leaned back into his pillow. No. No no no. That couldn't be right.

"But the iceberg... Death the Kid was in that box..."

"Wrong again. Though, the creature in there was similar to Death the Kid. You could call him Asura the Kid I suppose." Stein raised a finger, stopping another outburst from Soul. "The madness Asura emits can cause hallucinations. We both know that. What we didn't know is the amount of control Asura could exert on an individual close enough to him if he were focusing on that individual directly. Or a pair of individuals I should say. You and Maka. Your entire adventure was scripted by the Kishin." Just then, Marie came in the room, a group of students trailing like baby ducklings. Black Star, Tsubaki, Kid, Liz, and Patty. The gang was just about all there. They sat on the beds nearby Soul. For a bit, there was awkward silence.

"How's your arm?" Soul asked Marie. She smiled warmly at him.

"Much better. Franken assures me-" She gave Stein a pointed look. "that it won't scar." Stein gave her a manic grin.

"I had my fingers crossed." Marie's expression crackled like a thundercloud, and she raised a fist. Stein held up his hands. "Kidding. Maybe."

"How are you Soul? We were all really worried." Tsubaki asked, looking concerned. Soul absently rubbed his neck. How to answer?

"Fine. Feeling much better. I... I'm really sorry you guys."

"Hah! I accept your apology. After all, I'm just that great a person!" Black Star laughed. Kid steepled his fingers and spoke, his dry voice tinged with interest.

"Just to satisfy my curiosity Stein, you said the entity in the box was similar to me. In what way?"

"Just as you are a piece of Lord Death's soul and his eventual successor, so is the thing in the box to Asura. A backup. And now that Asura is dead and the box is destroyed, he has all of Asura's power."

"What were you doing there anyway." Soul asked.

"Mabaa gave us an interesting tidbit. Apparently while combing through Arachne's former lair, she found evidence Asura might have created this backup entity. That's how we knew what it was in the first place." Stein told him. "Then Lord Death sent us a message you two were heading in that direction. So we were waiting." Soul nodded, mulling it over.

"That... that makes a certain sense." Then he started. "My brother. Is he..." The room was silent. "I would appreciate everyone leaving. Now." Soul muttered. They filed out of the room, Marie and Tsubaki both giving him worried looks. The door clicked shut and it was like that opened the floodgates. The sorrow Soul had been holding in tight reign burst out and he sobbed violently. Maka was dead, or in the hands of Asura. He had killed his brother. Attacked his friends. And Asura was alive again. Hell. What hadn't he done? What was there left to screw up? He had so blindly trusted that he was in the right, and now things were almost worse than before. More than anything, Soul wished Maka was here. He could be strong for her. But now... he was just alone. Nobody here but him. What had even happened, the past couple of weeks? What had his brother really tried to tell him? And... what had happened to Maka? More than anything he worried for the girl. She... hadn't been looking too good last he saw her. And the only thing he could think of was her lifeless body at the bottom of the ocean. Soul shook with tears, trembling and crying. Two weeks and everything had gone to shit. He and Maka could have never left, could have not been on the run. They could have been happy. Soul let himself drift off to sleep. Anything to get out of his mind for a while.


	17. My Girl's on TV

"Are you feeling well enough to watch something?" Naigus asked Soul on the third day of his hospital stay. The nurse had been at his side almost constantly, making constant suggestions and offerings. For the most part, Soul had been responding in single syllables if at all. Mostly he slept all day.

"What."

"We found Maka." Immediately Soul perked up.

"Show me." He tracked Naigus as she wheeled a TV into the room. Was she alright? Safe? Did Asura have her? A hundred thoughts whirled through his mind before Naigus even pressed play. The image flickered to life.

"This was a news broadcast that aired this morning." Naigus said quietly. The screen showed an ugly, concrete brick of a building. It was surrounded by police, all with guns raised towards the entrance. A slim, asian reporter started talking.

"The scene is still developing, however, it appears a young girl carrying a sword has taken the building. Police are reluctant to say anything, but the building is believed to be a government facility." The reporter turned to look at the building, and the camera focused in on the doors. "And here is the suspect now. Police believe her to be a DWMA Meister, of all things." There was a shadow in the doorway, and the police opened fire. In a blur of motion the door shattered outwards, spraying glass through the air. The figure that followed moved too fast to be seen, darting into the army of cops before Soul could look closely. Blood sprayed and people screamed. "Oh god!" Came the reporters panicked voice. The camera overturned and the figure flashed towards the fleeing news crew, having finished the majority of the police. There was a scream from the reporter, and another two from the camera crew. Then silence. With a steady crunch of boots, someone approached the fallen camera. The figure stood over it, unmistakable. Maka Albarn brought down the glowing red sword in an arc, and there was static. Soul had gone grey. Then he looked at Naigus.

"This morning?" Naigus nodded. "How many..."

"We're still investigating. The current body count is around two hundred." She gave Soul a pointed look. "Whenever you're ready, the others want your input. They're planning how to stop her as we speak." Finally, Soul had some direction. He could save Maka. He had to. Without hesitation, he nodded.

"I'll be there."


	18. Council of War

The war room was actually just Stein's old classroom, but now it was packed with people. Every high level Meister, Death Scythe, and DWMA teacher was there. And, of course, Lord Death.

"Ok everybody! Let's have a bit of quiet!" Comes the Shinigami's voice. Idle chatter stops immediately. "Soul Eater Evans, the Death Scythe partner of Maka Albarn, will be having the first words." Soul steps up. He can barely stand, still weak and sickly. But at least he's doing something. For her.

"Um, ok. Not really sure how to start. I suppose the beginning." He cleared his throat. "We were manipulated by Asura. Since we were both near him when he died, he managed to slip in some kind of control. It made us see things, complete hallucinations. We were hearing, seeing, and doing whatever he wanted. And we didn't suspect the whole time. Most likely whatever he did included something to make us believe the illusion totally. There are a couple important things to say. First, there was a book. It may or may not be a physical object, but it gave us instructions. I'm not really sure what happened to it."

"Could you tell us where you last had it?" Asked Stein, his eyes alight with curiosity.

"The plane probably."

"Hmm. Might this be the book in question?" Stein pulled out the same sleek black volume. Surprisingly, the skull decorations are identical. "It looks completely blank to me. But maybe you can do something with it." The book is tossed in an underhand throw and Soul catches it, going to sit down, his speech forgotten. Every single page is filled.

"Lord Shinigami!" Soul said, his voice raw. "I think I need to write this for everyone. This... this could be the key to everything."

"What is it?" The god asked.

"Asura's plans. All the instructions he was going to leave us." Soul stares in wonder. "Everything's here."

"Well then let's get down to world saving!" Lord Death cackled. Paper is fetched, and Soul starts to write.


	19. Tick Tock

Tick, tock, tick, tock. Soul found the clock a very pressing metaphor. As he transcribed, he got more and more frantic. Everyone crowded around, staring over his shoulder.

"Little room please." He has to ask more than once. It's pretty annoying, but somehow he managed. Finally, after what seems like hours, the thin volume is copied. He got back up on the podium, taking the pages covered in his unruly scrawl with him. Throats are cleared, and his speech is begun. "From what I can see of the documents, the Asura entity isn't yet fully powered up." He looked down. Oh boy. "However, it's gaining in power. Collecting souls. Much like a Demon Weapon, if it reaches too many it will evolve. Change. Grow exponentially in power." He coughed again, his throat suddenly extremely dry. "When this happens it will... it will gain a new ability. The creature already has all the power of the old Asura, maybe not all of the skill, but definitely all the energy. But the new ability it will gain will be much like it's Madness Wavelength from earlier, able to affect every creature on the planet, influencing it's actions. However, now it will have direct control over this, from any range. What happened to Maka and I would happen to every single person. In this room, this continent, the entire world. Maybe even you, Lord Shinigami." He gives the god a concerned glance. "This is contingent on eating a large number of souls. The kind doesn't matter, only the strength. It will take roughly forty thousand normal human souls, at which point he will need one Meister soul. Not just any Meister, but the soul of a Meister with incredible talent and skill." Soul looked raw, broken. "That's why he needs Maka. She's going to let him destroy us all." A hushed silence fell over the crowd. Stein, Lord Shinigami, even Black Star are all quiet. Tick, tock, tick tock. Suddenly, Soul decided he was going to say something. Anything. They needed a plan, not this idiotic shock. "We need teams all around the globe. Asura can get us with one swoop if he gets into a major city. We need to stop that from happening." Soul turned to Lord Shinigami. "Do you have any way to get us around faster? Anything at all you can do?" The god seems to be thinking.

"Yup! Got something!" He said in his cheerful, distorted voice. "I can transport small groups personally. It'll take a lot out of me, but if that's what we need I can totally do it! Good thinking, Soul!"

"Lord Shinigami. Precisely how many individuals are we talking about." Stein asked. He looked thoughtful, and his hand drummed on his chair to an accelerated rhythm of the clock. Thump thump thump tick, thump thump thump tock.

"Oh, I dunno. Fourteen, probably? And me makes twelve, though I'll need some time to recover!" The god replied. Stein nodded. "May I propose a team then."

"Go right ahead!"

"Sid and Naigus. Myself and Marie. Kid, Liz, and Patty. Black Star and Tsubaki. Crona and Ragnarok. Justin Law. Spirit. And Soul Eater."

"Not sure I'm the best choice here Stein." Soul replied. He would be dead weight, unable to hold his own like Justin.

"On the contrary, you have a unique insight into Ms. Albarn. It seems likely you can figure out some way to target her, removing the possibility that Asura can use her."

"Hold up." Spirit interjected. "We aren't talking about killing her, are we?" Stein looked like he was about to reply, and Soul knew he needed to stop him. Of course Stein would be fine with that, but Spirit would panic, and they needed the Death Scythe to go along with it.

"Of course not." Soul told him. "I may be able to do something with resonance, get her to snap out of it. That sort of thing." He gave Stein a hard look throughout all of this. Wisely, the professor took the hint.

"May I suggest something." Death the Kid piped up in his usual deadpan. "If we contact the witches, I'm sure they would be quite interested in assisting us."

"Good thinking Kid!" Lord Shinigami exclaimed. "Ok everyone, lets get to work. I'll get Mabaa up to speed. Sid, coordinate teams of the other students and staff to cover the globe. Everyone else on the team, talk strategy things! And somebody get Crona out of his room? He said he couldn't take all the people, the funny little child!" The group drifts apart, each industriously going about their jobs. Soul's worried out of his mind. They might need to kill Maka. Kill her, to save everyone else. Then he clenched his fists. No. They were going to save her. Nobody else was going to die. He stalks out of the room after Stein, who is leading the charge to find Crona. Nobody. Was going to die. Least of all her. I'm coming Maka. Hold on.


	20. Battle is Joined

The group is just wrapping up battle plans. Tactfully, Stein manages to avoid considering anything too extreme in front of Spirit, but Soul knows what he's thinking. Maka was the weak link. Kill her and the entire thing falls apart. Yeah. Like Soul would let that happen. Just as Stein is finishing up a few final points, Sid bursts into the room.

"New York. He's there. Lord Death is waiting." The conference room empties almost immediately. Soul sprints along behind Sid, back into the auditorium. Lord Death is standing regally in the middle of the room.

"Gather round." He growls, his voice deadly serious. They huddle up, and the god sweeps his arms, twisting at the air. A rent appears, bloody red like an open wound. "In. Quickly." He gasps. It's obviously a strain. They hurry through into a nightmare. Buildings collapsed, people screaming. And in the middle of it all is Maka, holding the sword. She looks up and sees the group, a ragged Lord Death at the back, Soul in front. She extends the blade.

"Kishin Asura! Your soul is mine!" Then she hurtles forward like a bullet. The weapons change, all except for Soul, and leap forward to meet her. And so battle was joined.


End file.
